Poetry Prompt 31 - The OctPoWriMo Journey

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

The last day of OctPoWriMo has arrived. It always seems to go by so fast. How has your journey been for you? Have you discovered new ways to write poetry? Were you able to dive deeper into the words and uncovered new/old truths?

I want to thank Bev and Tamara for helping out this year, I couldn't do this without our loving and compassionate voluteers!

I want to thank you for showing up, reading our prompts, and writing your poetry whether you used our prompts or not. I am just glad you came along for the ride and explored poetry with us.

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry Prompt: 

Write for ten minutes about your journey with poetry this month, ask yourself some of the questions I posed up above.

Word Prompts:

trip
expedition
excursion
trek
voyage
cruise
ride
drive
jaunt

Sentence Starters: 

The journey isn't ending...
exploring my depths...

Thank you so much for joining us, I hope you decide to join us again next year. Remember you can share your poetry all year long in our facebook group, Writing Poetry Group. I will also share with the group any prompts I write during the year within the group.

Oh and for those that would like to do some catching up with their poetry, the links will be open until Nov. 7th at the end of the day EST.


Peace to you,
Morgan Dragonwillow

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Sensitivity

So we're almost there! We can see November on the horizon and I bet some of you are doing NaNoWriMo too! It's a bittersweet day where I'm so glad of all we're accomplishing together but I'll also miss sharing and reading with you lovely poets.

With all the feelings I've had, I thought for my last prompt of 2015 to think about the senses.

Your prompt today is to write a poem that incorporates each of the senses (Or I guess if you want, focus in on one of them?) Free for all on the form, but go one by one with see, feel, smell, hear, and taste. Tell me a story or tell me a memory. Really put the reader into that fleeting moment of life so that in every way those words are alive. Let them be the truth of the moment.

Wow, that was a short post.

Word Prompts:  
Present
Icy
Embers
Moonlight


Sentence prompts: 
Then it hit me like...
The breeze came through the window...
I love...
Into the puddle...


Photo of the day: 

Photo by BeverlyTanPhotography 

I love you guys and I'm so proud of what you're doing! Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter/Instagram @BeverlyTanFilm and drop me a line sometime! I hope you've enjoyed my prompts and maybe I've been a little helpful somewhere. 

You inspire me. Keep writing! 

~Bev <3 

Drawing to a Close | OctPoWriMo Day 29

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ~Seneca

I think this will be my final post for this month. I'm a bit sad that the month is drawing to a close. It feels like October just began to me. But all good things must end. In honor of the approaching end, let's write a poem about endings. Think about an ending that's happened in your life, and talk about the positive aspects of it. We always talk about endings in negative terms, but there's definitely occasions where the end was needed. Like when you quit the job that made you cry every morning, or you stopped smoking. Be bold and write beautifully fellow poets!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 28 - Will You Accept This Challenge?

“I have accepted the challenge of life, to be all that I can possibly be.” 

― Lailah Gifty Akita

Photo by Peter Hager at PublicDomainPictures.net

Poetry Prompt:

It is that time of year again... Every year I post this challenge. Choose your favorite poem and record yourself reading it, either an audible recording or video. Remember, all of our prompts are only suggestions, but I hope you decide to take the challenge.

Word Prompts:

confident
positive
pessimistic
sanguine
inauspicious
buoyant

Sentence Starters:

Flying into the wind...

It's a bright new day...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 27 - Whimsical

"Because I want to believe in happy endings."

 --MDragonwillow

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

I'm feeling rather whimsical as I've been looking at all things Fairy for possibilities for my granddaughters holiday gifts. Hope you are enjoying this last week of OctPoWriMo and have discovered new things about yourself and your poetry as well as discovered other new poets.

Poetry Prompt:

What is your happy ending? Write for ten minutes asking yourself that question.

Word Prompts:

fanciful
playful
mischievous
waggish
quaint
quizzical
curious

Sentence Starter:

Once upon a time...
As the sun broke the horizon...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Looping Around

Alrighty, I think OctPoWriMo's greatest effect on me is that it's made me appreciate form more. Or maybe I needed more pushes to do something besides scribble letters on napkins at the wine lounge. I like circles. My filmmaker heart gets super happy when I see things come back and the full circle becomes complete so that's what I'm thinking about today as I write this post.

Today we are exploring loop poetry!

This one is a fairly freeform compared to some of the other ones, and I promise it's easier than the paradelle!

How to Loop: 
There are no restrictions on meter or syllables or rhyme schemes (YAY!)
BUT we have a few rules!

• Take the last word of a line. Skip a line. Use that word as the first word of that line. 
• I know, sounds harder than it is, so basically take the last word of the FIRST line and use it as the first word of the THIRD line. Take the last word of the SECOND line and use it as the first word of the FORTH line. Last word of the THIRD line is the first word of the FIFTH line. And it keeps going on and on like that. 
• Some people do it by stanzas. 
• There is also a variation where there's no skipping and the last word of the line simply becomes the first word of the next line. Simpler, but personally I think it's a LOT harder. 

Got it? Sounds fun right! 

Word Prompts: 

Cycle

Transparent 

Petrichor- the scent of rain on dry earth 

Rarity 

Sentence Prompts: 

So it started... 

Pretty as a... 

Tiptoeing around the... 

Photo of the day: 

Photo by Beverly Tan Photography 

Dress and modeling by Olivia Mears at Avant-Geek 

Wrote something? As always link up below and tweet/instagram me at @beverlytanfilm #octpowrimo so I can share it! 

I love hearing what you think and remember, these prompts are just suggestions and my attempts to inspire some muse. 

Childhood Favorite | OctPoWriMo Day 25

Let's take a trip down memory lane. Do you remember your most beloved childhood toy? Was it a well-loved teddy bear missing a button eye? Did you have a Transformer that was the best thing ever? Or were you like me and instead of a favorite toy, you had a favorite blankie. Whatever happened to it? Do you remember a story about the toy? Do your remember why it gave you so much joy? Tell us about your childhood favorite it today's poem. It's day 25 y'all. The end is nigh! I hope you're enjoying yourselves and reading each others writing. Until next time...

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ― Philip Pullman

Photo by Bobby Mikul at PublicDomainPictures.net

Several years ago I was searching through the photos on PublicDomainPictures.net and came upon the above photo. I immediately started hearing a story poem that I ended up writing called Blind. Most of the time my poetry tends to be either how I am feeling or something from my life but sometimes, I enjoy writing story poetry.

Poetry Prompt:

Search through the photos at PublicDomainPictures.net until you find one that sparks a story poem for you.

Word Prompts:

Imaginary

tale

adventure

drama

fantasy

Poetry Type: 

With my poem, Blind, I chose to count syllables (I chose 4) and every line the same amount of syllables with the rhyming abcb format. You can choose to do the same as I did or you can go and choose a different type at ShadowPoetry.com 

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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A Drop in the Ocean

And now it's time to return to anarchy and break my streak of form prompts! Some of you are cheering, I feel it already.

Yūgen is a Japanese word pertaining to a profound awareness of the universe which evokes feelings that are inexplicably deep and too mysterious for words. 

Anyways today I'm thinking about the greatness and smallness of things in comparison to each other. Also about how small things fit as pieces to a whole.

It's all around, forest fires start from sparks, oceans are made of water drops. (There I go again with my element loving) but look around and take a moment to observe how the clothes you wear are made of tiny threats and the vastness of the sky. Try to count some of the billions of stars outside at night and realize that most of those are bigger than the sun, and there's SO many of them. But you're not just this tiny speck in space, you are a beautiful combination of tiny pieces of matter put together in a truly unique way.

Today I encourage you to think about those things as you write your poem of the day.

But of course, as always, this is just a friendly suggestion.

Word Prompts: 
Seascape
Harmony
Galactic

Sentence Prompts: 
Just a chip...
The spark lit...
And so we danced...

Photo of the day: 

Wrote something? Share it with the linky and of course tweet/instagram it to @beverlytanfilm so I can see it and retweet! Hope you're having fun! Also drop me a line about if you prefer forms or my crazy abstract rambles. 

Happy writing my loves <3 

Two Lies and a Truth | #OctPoWriMo Prompt 22

Have you ever played the game: Two Lies and a Truth? That's when you tell someone two things that are a lie and one thing that is the truth. And through that the person has to guess which is the truth. Let's try to play a game with our poetry today. In today's poem, let's put the focus directly on us. For some of us- myself included- it's preferable to write about others. This time around, let's tell each other two lies and one truth. Whether they're ridiculous, mundane, shocking, or interesting tidbits, weave them together so we cant' tell the difference. You can decide on your post whether you want people to guess the truth or just tell them. Remember the prompts are just suggestions and have fun!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which released its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 21 - Overwhelm

“...if you've got writer's block, you aren't empty - maybe it's just like Twitter - overwhelmed, and loading seems to be taking a while...” ― John Geddes, A Familiar Rain

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

I really enjoy working with Shadow Poetry's different types of poetry and today we are moving on to the Ballad. I must admit that when I first read the description I was a little intimidated; it seemed complicated. But once I read their example I realized that I had already written a similar type without realizing it when I wrote The Ways Not Clear a couple of years ago. I hope you decide to try this one.

Poetry Prompt: 

In honor of my week of feeling overwhelmed, I challenge you to write into your feelings of overwhelm; when you feel it, how you feel it, what happens when you feel it, and what you do about it.

Word Prompt: 

swamp
submerge
engulf
bury
deluge
flood
inundate

Sentence Starters: 

If I admit I am feeling overwhelmed...
When I feel overwhelmed...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 20 - Love Poetry

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” ― Maya Angelou

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry Prompt:

Time to write a love poem. Now just because it is a love poem doesn't mean it has to be between lovers, it can be the love you had for your favorite pet when you were growing up (or now), it could be for your kids, it could be your best friend. Or, you could do something fun from a prompt I shared in the 2013 OctPoWriMo, Love Letters, Not What You Are Expecting.

Word Prompts:

fondness
tenderness
warmth
intimacy
attachment
endearment

Possible Poetry type: Loop Poetry, an invented form at Shadowpoetry.com

I have discovered a new poet, at least a new poet to me, Andrea Gibson. Gibson's poetry speaks to me on many levels and if you haven't read Gibson's poetry I highly recommend it. I just bought, The Madness Vase and can't wait to dive into it. Have you discovered any new poetry books lately?

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Oh Dear!

Hello again from your favorite structure anarchist! I yet again bring you something with form! Never fear, this one has nothing to do with counting!

Actually this is a form that I kinda made up one day for a poetry class in college, I call it the "Dear," form.

Once upon a time a friend and I were joking about our ex boyfriends at the beginning of poetry class and coming forth from that was what we wrote that day!

How to do it? 

Each line of the poem starts with "Dear (name)"
You get one line to say something to an ex or some significant love, example I did my ex boyfriend, my high school crushes, my (then) current boyfriend, my childhood love, etc. Anyways my list ended up to be about 17 names long.
For each name, you get one sentence plus one word (optional) Example: "Dear Steve, at least you made good coffee. Sorry."

Don't have a long enough list? You can go with a list like your bridesmaids, your best friends in college, deceased pets, etc. I've always liked doing this periodically with the same list to see if my feelings have changed towards any of the memories I have of these people. It's a nice reflective exercise I feel, personally I think it pairs well with a glass of wine.

Word prompts: 
Cappuccino
Crashing
Sorry

Sentence prompt: 
The coffee was cold...
Like a sleepy cat...
Do you believe...

Photo of the day:

Photo courtesy of Beverly Tan Photography 

Whatcha think? Write something? Don't forget to tweet/instagram me at @beverlytanfilm #octpowrimo and/or comment below!

Things aren't always what they seem | Poetry Prompt 18

It's OctPoWriMo Day 18! How's your writing going this month? I hope you've written some new things and are enjoying reading all this poetry this month. Today's prompt we're going to add a little mystery to our lives. Look around you, whether it's a physical object or people in general in your life. Chose something or someone and give them a double life. Ex: I just book a graphic novel where the woman is a turn of the century housewife during the day, but at night she's an assassin. Maybe your tomato has the secret life of an apple. Never know what's happening in the crisper when the drawer is closed. Get creative and have fun with it.

Remember the prompt is just a suggestion!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 17 - Are You Dancing?

“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.” ― Rumi

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry Prompt:

What stage are you at in the above quote? Are you dancing? Write for ten minutes asking yourself the previous questions. 

Word Prompts:

Free

Middle

Bandage

Poetry Type: Cascade

I created a poem for this poetry type for the last A to Z challenge. I enjoyed playing with it and I hope you do as well.

The shackles binding her in place fell to the ground.

She discovered a freedom never felt before.

Smiling into the sun, she laughed and walked away.

She didn’t know her prison was her own making.

She longingly looked out over the horizon.

The Shackles binding her in place fell to the ground.

The door opened and suddenly she had choices.

Stepping out the breeze gently stroked her hair and face.

She discovered a freedom never felt before.

Now was her chance to be who she was meant to be.

She didn’t hesitate or think to look backward.

Smiling into the sun, she laughed and walked away.

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Paradelle

I'm all about structure this week, weirdddd. Anyways, paradelles are some of my favorites, it's a really nice challenge! They were invented to be a parody (hence the name) to villanelles by US Poet Laureate Billy Collins. There, that's your history lesson for the day!

For all the structure lovers in the house, you're going to LOVE this! 

You've got four stanzas of six lines each. I would totally try to explain but Shadowpoetry.com does it a lot more concisely than I do: 

The Paradell Structure

First Three Stanzas:

The first two lines as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas must be the same (repeat). Where it begins to get difficult and become more of a poetic puzzle is when reaching fifth and sixth lines. These lines must contain all the words from the preceding four lines within the stanza using them only once to form completely new lines.

Last Stanza:

For the most difficult piece of this poetic puzzle, the final stanza of the paradelle does not repeat like the preceding stanzas, rather the final six lines must contain every word from the first three stanzas, and only those words, again using them only once to form completely new lines.

The Design is simple:

Stanza 1: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4  
Stanza 2: 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8
Stanza 3: 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12
Stanza 4: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 

Word prompts: 

Parallel

Dimension 

Shipwreck 

Delicious 

Sentence prompts: 

O' stormy sea...

Sounding with a crunch...

In her shadow... 

Photo of the day: 

Photo courtesy of Beverly Tan Photography 

So how about that? Fun sounding huh? Now for those of you more like me (the ones who tend to be anti-formalism) remember this prompt is just a suggestion and I promise to not be offended when you go off prompt. Heck, I might be a hypocrite and go off prompt because I'm super excited about Monday's prompt. 

Wrote something? Tell me about it by tweeting @beverlytanfilm #octpowrimo! Also comment below and don't forget the linky! 

Conquer the World | Day 15

This is the 15th day of OctPoWriMo! How are you doing? Have you been hitting each day with a poem or joining us upon occasion? Either way, we're glad you came.

Imagine if today was the day where you could do anything you wanted. All foods had no calories. You could speed without getting pulled over. You could climb onto a plane and fly without having a ticket. What would you do? What is your wildest dream for you one day? Tell us all about it!

Remember the prompt is only a suggestion!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing its first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 14 - Between Yesterday and Tomorrow

“Trust is the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow, built with planks of thanks.” ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Photo by Larisa Koshkina at PublicDomainPictures.net

Most of the time I don't have any clue what prompt I'm going to use. Today I started reviewing the photos on PublicDomainPictures.net and one thing led to another until I saw this photo and immediately knew what wanted to be here for the prompt. I love it when inspiration kicks in!

Poetry Prompt:

What is on the bridge between yesterday and tomorrow? Write for ten minutes focusing on that question.

Word Prompts:

Connections

burning bridges

Between

Sentence Starters:

The difference between then and now...

I stood on the bridge...

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Poetry Prompt 13 - Risky Business

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” 
― T.S. Eliot

Photo by Alex Grichenko from PublicDomainPhotos.net 

I wanted to do something light and fun for today's prompt but it just wouldn't coalesce. Hope your week is going well and the words spring from your fingers.

Poetry Prompt:

What risk are you willing to take with your writing? Write for ten minutes exploring that question and see where it leads you. 

Word Prompts:

Exposed

Honesty

Chance

Sentence Starters:

If I'm honest with myself...

Engaging all of my senses...

Possible Poetry Type to explore - I wrote a Blitz poem early on in this journey and now let's see who would like to try writing a Blitz poem from Shadowpoetry.com 

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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A, B, C, easy as 1, 2, 3

Photo from PublicDomainPictures.net

I bet you're singing that Jackson 5 song in your head now, maybe even out loud.
Today I thought of an interesting notion for a prompt, yet a very simple one.

Prompt of the day:
Write a poem that is 26 lines. Each line begins with a different letter of the alphabet. A, B, C, etc.

I guess you're wondering why this lover of abstract prompts and wild ideas wants something with actual parameters for once. I guess I found myself spinning into the unknown and needed some grounding. I think sometimes as artists and wordsmiths, we need to give ourselves something with structure.

Need some help finding words? Here's a list of 100 beautiful words.

Write something? Have something to share? Tell us all about it in the comments and tweet me at @beverlytanfilm #octpowrimo 

Happy writing! 

Sing Out Your Success | Poetry Prompt 11

This week has been kind of amazing for me. My friend Laura and I run The Reverie Journal, which is an online poetry zine where we discuss all things poetry. October marks our 1st year anniversary.  On Friday, we launched our first compilation featuring poets from around the world. I'm kind of in awe. This year has been filled with a lot of setbacks, changes, and the unpredictable nature that is life. I'm proud that we've come this far and surprised that it worked out so beautifully.

This brings us to today's prompt.

Think of a time where you surprised yourself. You set out to do something and you surprised yourself. You weren't even sure if the goal was feasible. Maybe it was something you hadn't done before. Maybe you did it against the advice of family and friends. Perhaps you had to war against your inner doubts to make it happen. But you did it anyway and you did it your way.

Tell us your success story.

Remember the prompts are just a suggestion!

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia where she began penning poems after a boy broke her heart. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. Her writing has been featured in Mamalode, In the Powder Room, and many others. She is the editor for The Reverie Journal, which will be releasing it's first poetry collection early October. She also hosts #writestuff TweetChat where writers talk about writing every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. She is a hillbilly hermit living in Honolulu with her Mathmagician.

Poetry Prompt 10 - Wild Writing

How are things going? Are you writing poetry everyday, every other day, are you stuck? Remember wherever you are it is right and perfect. Be kind to yourself, take a bubble bath, go for a walk, or as I talk about below, dance.

Image by Morgan Dragonwillow

Wild Writing: Wild writing comes from the wild mind. For me it is accessing that part of myself that is primal, that part of myself that doesn’t listen to societal conventions. Dancing takes me to this place like nothing else can. It takes me out of my body and into that space of imagination, possibilities, and no thought. I know you’re probably wondering how you can write if you are in a place of no thought. Well, that is the place where your ego steps out of the way and deep connection happens. It is a place where your writing can fall onto the page almost of its own volition. Try it for yourself, put on some music and dance into and out of your own way and let loose your wild writing.

Writing Prompt:

If you already have music that you want to dance to and access your wild writing, great! If not I am sharing one of my favorites that help me get to that place. Listen to the music, dance, and get in touch with your wild self. When you feel ready, come to the page and let it pour out.

Word Prompt:

Unknown
Uninhibited
Untamed Heart

Sentence Starter:

Blood rushes through my veins...
As I dance...

Hope you are having fun on this OctPoWriMo Journey and your muse is visiting you often!

Morgan Dragonwillow is a poet, author, foodie, urban gardener, and recovering perfectionist, that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her Playing with Words on her blog. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.

You can also find her on Google+

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Firepower!

Maybe it's because I feng shiu'ed my office last week but I'm thinking about the elements today. Water, fire, air, earth, metal, ice, etc. Elements have so much symbolism in them, and the best part is the duality you can find with them. Think about the movie Frozen, the ice made beautiful snowflakes but it also almost killed people.

My favorite has always been fire, something that keeps you warm on cold winter nights but also firestorms, burning beautiful fires. 

Today I'm suggesting you think about the elements, how they affect you and about the duality and contrast in them. 

Here's a few photos to get you started. 

Top image courtesy of the wonderful Andrew Dodson, model Beverly Tan. See his work at https://www.facebook.com/adodsonphoto

All other images copyright Beverly Tan 

See more at Facebook.com/beverlytanphotography or viewbug.com/member/bevtan

Word Prompts: 
Windstorm 

Flickering

Earthy

Balance 
Sentence prompts: 
In a spark... 

When it rains... 

Calming like the sound of... 

Wrote something? Share your poem with us by linking it in the comments and Tweet @beverlytanfilm and/or #octpowrimo so I see it!